COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTIONAvailable filtered and pasteurised in 500ml bottles.
Production moved from London to Bedford in 2006 when Wells and Young’s merged. Brand acquired solely by Charles Wells in 2011.
This fabulous barley wine is a malty, velvety smooth and full bodied beer with a rich dark ruby colour. Old Nick is overflowing with sumptuous flavours of fruit and hops, with a complex bitterness on the finish.Pale ale and crystal malt together with Young’s unique mix of cane sugar and Fuggle and Goldings hops.Try it with cheese as a delicious and flavourful alternative to port.

Dark burgundy coloured, creamy winter warmer with sweet caramelly malt profile, candied fruits and warming, liqueurish alcohol in the finish without any astringency. Great, though more and old ale than a true barley wine to me. Too bad this isn’t made anymore.

(Bottle by Ram). Bottle shared by mcbackus. Pours a flat brown. Aroma is a raisin and oxidized. Taste is sweet and malty with raisins and sherry. Good but past its prime. Bottle says by 2007. Probably a good date.

I have not seen this beer in ages, but I figured I’d review it from the notes I took the last time I had it. I had a bottle of this beer way back in 2004, so I’m not even sure if it is still in production. Either way, I enjoyed this rich brew very much. It was the perfect companion to the flickering firelight and a comfy chair on a cold January evening. The palate exploded with sumptuous, chewy malt, baker’s chocolate, caramelized sugar and a bananas foster taste on the front of the tongue and on the finish. A slight hop bitterness was noticed at the back of the tongue. It has a beautiful color of deep, warm ruby as a bonus. Overall, this beer was terrific and very, very comforting for a cold night. A+++

26-Feb-12(500-ml bottle, Best by 12-Apr-06: Purchased for $2.99 at BevMo in Encinitas, CA)Well, this is it, my final bottle of Old Nick, from before their merger with Wells. I’m very sad that it’s no longer in production because back in the 90’s, this was one of my favorite beers, and while it may have dropped a notch in my book since then, it’s still a really, really terrific beer. The beer pours a hazy, deep red-brown body and a creamy, tan cap that settles to a wide ring. The nose is incredibly fruity, with aromas of dried apricot, raisin, and fig, but it’s also very malty, offering caramel candy, toffee, buttered toast, and treacle. On the palate, it’s a very rich, full-bodied, almost chewy beer, and though it’s a fairly sweet beer, it’s a malty sweet rather than sugary sweet. The prominent caramely malt flavor is complemented by toffee, lightly browned toast with a spread of butter, dried fruits such as raisin, prune, fig, and apricot, treacle, and brown sugar. Sure, there is oxidation here, but as usual for many of the aged English barley wines, it just seems completely natural. Such a great beer, to me it’s a tragedy that it’s no longer in production. Three cheers for corporate mergers!

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